The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-10-15
NUMBER SO.
About Beds.


general few peculiaritIes to distin-
guish them from our simpler forms.
Both the Greeks and the Romans
had their beds supported on frames
that resembled our modern bed.
steads, feather and wool mattresses
were common, and the bedclothing,
In the luxurious period of each ma
ton. was richly decorated with elab.
GRATED needle work. The Britons,
when conquered by Caesar, slept on
skins. after the manner of our North
American Indians, but at later
period they made use of straw sacks
as beds. The ancient Egyptians had
a couch of peculiar shape and pro.
fusion of soft cushions and richly
embroidered drapery. Most of the
beds mentioned in the Bible were
probably of the ordinary simple kind.
During the middle ages beds were
made of coarse canvas aud filed with
straw or leaves. These could be
opened and the litter re.made daily,
as is the custom to-day with the mat.
treSSeS in the Old-faShiOned inns of
France and Italy. The bedsteads
were low-posted and usually had q
canopy at the head. In the Bayeux
tapestry Edward the Confessor is rep.
resented lying upon raised seat, his
head supported by squared pillows,
and the canopy over his head is at
tached to the wall. Scott in his ro.
nance of "Ivanhoe," describes one
of the beds in the mansion of Cedric
the Saxon, as consisting of rude
"hutch or bed-frame. stuffed with
clean straw and accommodated with
two or three sheepskins by way of
bed-clothes." The bed of the Lady
Rowena "was adorned with rich
tapestry and surrounded with cur
tains of dyed purple"
The house of the ancient English
gentleman was not, ss general
thing, provided with bedrooms. A
chamber or shed was built against
the wall that inclosed the mansion
and its dependencies, and in this
little cell the lord and his lady slept.
Sometimes there was another cham.
ber of the same kind built for the
daughter or young ladies of the
house. Many illusions to such be6.
rooms are found in Chaucer. AS
general thing the young men of the
house and the guests slept on tables
and benches in the greet hall where
woolen coverlets or blankets were
provided for warmth. Servants and
attendants slept on the floor.
Later on. in the time of the Tudors,
the "four.p posted bedstead," an i'm.
mense piece of furniture, having a
canopy supporter at each corner of
the posts, became the fashionable
sleeping couch. Some of the old
wills mention "posted sett work bed.
steads." These paneled bedsteads
were sometimes of elegant and mas.
sive architecture. The columus re.
sembled huge balusters, and rose
from square dado bases and all the
frame pieces were carved with deco
rative holdings of various patterns.
On some of the earlier bedsteads the
column terminated with figures rep.
resenting the four evangeiists.
Under these great "set work" bed
steads were put trundIe-beds for the
body servants and children. 1t is re.
lated of a Spanish page who went to
England with his master in the time
of Queen Elizabeth. that one day,
while wandering about the spacious
mansion, he entered the rooms where
the maids were making the beds, and
spying the arrangements of the slid
ing beds was quite taken with them.
In his own country he had slept on
straw in the hostler's loft, but in En-
gland he had found that rather un-
comfortable on account OF the cold.
So he says to his master "Sir. there
are sort of little beds under the
great beds in this house, which they
say are for servants; pray You to
suffer me to lie In one of Them" In
the sleeping chamber was usually q
"perch," answering to an old-fash-
ioned clothes-horse. On it, says an
old writer, "hang your clothes, man.
ties, frocks, cloaks. doublets. furs,
winter clothes and of summer"
"Can you recommend for me a
good home course Of botany 2" asks
correspondent. Yes, the -four bar